Sex is an exciting activity associated with strong feelings of pleasure. Sex is closely connected to feelings of love and attraction. Cultural beliefs and individuals beliefs about sex also affect sexual activity. Sociobiologists, psychoanalysts, and sociologists have different perspectives of sex and reasons as to why humans engage in sex.
According to sociobiologists, sexual behavior is a manifestation of general behavior. Darwin is the founder of the branch of biology known for his theory of evolution. Evolution aims to generate healthy and strong off springs, and this happens through sexual behavior. Sociobiologists give specific characteristics that people look for when selecting a mate including physical attractiveness and body type (Hyde & DeLamater, 2008). Sociobiologists posit that men choose women with big breasts because they are likely to give birth and take care of babies without any problem. Sociobiologists also believe that selecting a mate goes beyond physical factors. There has to be a close bond between parents, and the close relationship guarantees sexual enjoyment and perpetuation of the parental union. The sociobiological approach to human sexuality is criticized for focusing on survival and reproduction. While the natural purpose of sex is a reproduction, sexual activity in most cases is not driven by the need to procreate.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
On the other hand, psychoanalysis views human sexual activity as a tool used to establish short term or long-term relationships. Women are more likely to choose a temporary sexual relationship with men who can provide instant resources while men prefer to engage in a brief period relationship with women willing to accept their sexual advances without any difficulty. In the long term, women choose men who can continue to provide them with resources in the long-run. Men do not build long-term relationships with sexually easy females. They tend to look for someone serious who they think can be a good mother to his children. Both men and women favor long-term relationships, but they engage in short-term sexual relations for lack suitable partners for long-term relationships. Different psychological theorists have their perspectives and justifications as to why humans engage in sexual activity. For example, Freud states that human beings have three components: id, ego, and superego (Low, 2015). The id is the pleasure-seeking component with no restraint, and it is probably one of the reasons human beings engage in sex for pleasure. The ego is realistic, and it controls the id while the superego is moralistic.
Lastly, sociologists justify sexual activity using three assumptions. The first assumption is that every society regulates the sexuality of its members. Secondly, basic institutions affect rules governing sexuality, and lastly, the appropriateness or inappropriateness of a particular sexual behavior depends on the culture. Society affects sexuality at a macro and a micro level. Religion, economy, family, law and other societal institutions affect sexuality and the reason as to why human beings have sex. For example, most religions teach that sex is for procreation purposes and are against premarital sex.
On a micro level, one’s social class or ethnicity can also influence one’s sexuality. Culture affects sexuality such that what is permissive in one culture might not be permissive in another culture. For example, gay relationships are taboo in African societies that still practice child marriages. Sociologists do not only justify sexual activity using societal institutions only; they add that sexual interaction is personal. It involves great physical pleasure and disclosure of one’s body, thoughts, and feelings.
In conclusion, psychoanalysts, sociobiologists, and sociologists have different perceptions and reasons as to why human beings engage in sexual activity. For sociobiologists, human beings engage in sex for procreation and sociologists state that sexual interaction comes with a great deal of physical pleasure. The three schools of thought explore all the reasons as to why human beings have sex to show that there are many reasons for engaging in sex.
References
Hyde, J. S., & DeLamater, J. D. (2008). Understanding human sexuality . McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Low, B. S. (2015). Why Sex Matters: A Darwinian Look at Human Behavior-Revised Edition . Princeton University Press.
